Ponty’s circulars triggered upheaval in African command structures before World War I

Evidence

Panty’s circulars had a direct impact upon policy making. Throughout West Africa, the years leading up to World War I witnessed a major upheaval in the African command structure. The breakup of remaining states begun under Roume was continued. Although the lieutenant governors of certain colonies, such as Guinea and Senegal, realized that they could not abolish the offices of canton and province chiefs and still function normally, local administrators nevertheless often adopted the next best antichief measure: they deliberately excluded members of traditional ruling lineages from power, preferring to appoint new men as French administrative auxiliaries. This was more true of Guinea than of Senegal, which, for reasons that will be discussed in the next chapter, was the one colony in which Panty’s directives were not extensively applied. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 403

Categorization

• XREF: Shows how ideology translates into colonial practice — useful comparison to other administrative ‘reform’ waves.